What major donations or grants have been reported to support blexit?
Executive summary
Reporting shows BLEXIT has both grassroots fundraising channels tied to Turning Point USA and periods of large but fluctuating contributions: filings and reporting say the group took in more than $7 million amid 2020 racial-justice protests and then reported a sharp drop to roughly $2.34 million in a later year, while spending on employees rose noticeably [1]. BLEXIT’s public fundraising pages also emphasize multiple donation methods and that BLEXIT is “powered by Turning Point USA,” a 501(c) that aggregates donations and infrastructure [2] [3].
1. BLEXIT’s stated fundraising channels — direct appeals and TPUSA backing
BLEXIT’s own site invites individual donors, accepts wire/ACH/stock/crypto, and directs supporters to donate through Turning Point USA, stating BLEXIT is “powered by Turning Point USA” and that donations are tax-deductible via TPUSA’s 501(c) status [2] [3]. The site promotes events, courses and a “more ways to give” page that frames funding as a mix of grassroots small-dollar donors and digital contributions [4] [5].
2. Reported spikes in revenue during 2020 and abrupt declines afterward
Investigative reporting cited by Raw Story (relaying the Daily Beast) says BLEXIT reaped more than $7 million in donations during the 2020 racial-justice protests but later filings showed contributions falling to about $2,342,820 in a subsequent year; that same reporting says the foundation spent nearly $1 million more than it earned in the later year and doubled total payments to employees [1]. Those figures indicate major year-to-year volatility in reported revenue and spending [1].
3. Transparency pathways: Form 990s and third‑party databases
Multiple nonprofit trackers and charity directories list BLEXIT Foundation as a registered 501(c) and point to Form 990 filings as the place to confirm donors, grants and grants paid; services like GuideStar, Instrumentl and GiveFreely aggregate that filing data and note past awards and volunteer counts but do not themselves assert specific outside grants to BLEXIT beyond the organization’s reported receipts [6] [7] [8]. Those resources signal that the primary public record for major grants is the IRS Form 990 and related filings [7].
4. Outside spending and political‑spending records are separate and partial
OpenSecrets shows entries for “Blexit Fund” in its outside‑spending database for 2020 and lists affiliates and recipients, but the OpenSecrets pages in the search results focus on outside‑spending activity rather than listing philanthropic grants to the nonprofit BLEXIT Foundation; the records are catalogued under outside‑spending committees rather than a conventional grant roster [9] [10] [11]. Available sources do not mention a public list of major external foundation grants to BLEXIT in the materials provided here.
5. Competing perspectives in coverage: fundraising success vs. donor collapse
Coverage shows two competing narratives: BLEXIT and allied organizations present a broad grassroots donor base and institutional support through TPUSA [2] [3], while watchdog and investigative reporting highlights a dramatic drop in donations after a 2020 spike and rising internal spending, implying sustainability and governance questions [1]. Both narratives rely on the same underlying tax filings and public statements, interpreted differently by proponents and critics [1] [2].
6. Limits of the available reporting and next steps for verification
Current sources in this packet identify major totals reported (the >$7 million figure and the ~$2.34 million later total) and show BLEXIT’s fundraising mechanisms and TPUSA linkage [1] [2] [3]. They do not, however, provide a granular, independently verified list of large outside grants (foundations, corporate donors, or major individual donors) beyond what appears on Form 990s and outside‑spending filings; for confirmation, review of the organization’s full IRS Form 990s, TPUSA donor disclosures and OpenSecrets detailed entries is required — items referenced by Instrumentl and OpenSecrets but not reproduced in these results [7] [9].
7. What this means politically and philanthropically
Large, concentrated inflows tied to a political moment (2020 protests) followed by a sharp decline — if the filings are accurate — point to a fundraising profile driven by episodic national attention rather than steady institutional grantmaking [1]. The TPUSA relationship means some donations may flow through or be managed with TPUSA infrastructure, complicating straightforward attributions of “who gave BLEXIT money” without inspecting joint filings and 990 schedules [2] [3].
If you want, I can pull the specific Form 990 line items and OpenSecrets donor details referenced in these reports (where available) to list named donors, grants or payments and the years they appear.